Oceanography – MARSC 100: Study Guide – Exam 3 (Ch. 11-14)
The 70-point exam will be composed of 70 multiple choice, True/False, or matching type
questions. I recommend that you read Chapters # 11 - 14 before the test & attempt to answer the
questions at the end of each chapter.
You must supply your own Red ParScore Test form and a sharp #2 pencil.
Understand these concepts and be able to answer the following questions:
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Tides - Chapter #11
Tides are waves. Be familiar with their general wave characteristics (long wavelength &
period, etc.).
Understand how the sun & the moon influence Earth’s ocean tides. Understand the role of the
opposing forces of gravity & inertia (centrifugal force).
Understand the tidal patterns: diurnal, semidiurnal, mixed. What tidal pattern is typical the
southern California coast?
What happens to tides when the sun and moon are in line with the Earth? What happens to
tides when the sun & moon are at right angles to one another? What is the name given to
each of these special types of tides & when do they occur?
What is the general name for the water level from which the heights of tides are measured?
What is the amphidromic point? From a combination of what do the tides at any one locality
result (Hint: Dynamic Theory of Tides)?
Can a spring tide only occur during spring and summer months in each hemisphere?
What are ebb & flood currents?
How are marine organisms affected by the tides. What is the intertidal zone? What stresses
must intertidal species adapt to during high tide (submergence) & low tide (emergence)?
What role does submergence play in determining where organisms live in intertidal?
How are plankton, filter-feeders, & animal larvae (especially intertidal species) affected by
the tides.
What are grunion? What part of their life is connected to tides? What is the significance of
spring tides in their life cycle?
Coasts - Chapter #12
Are the present shorelines of the world considered to be dynamic environments affected by
both long-term and short-term cycles? How has the sea level changed over geologic time?
What are the main differences between erosional and depositional coasts?
What are longshore current, longshore drift, & riptides?
How does most new sand get to the coast? What are coastal cells?
What are deltas? How and why do deltas form?
How do coral reefs form?
What are estuaries? What are the values of estuaries? How have human activities destroyed
& continue to threaten estuaries?
What human activities interfere with coastal processes & how do they impact the coast?
What has been the response to these coastal impacts (Hint: seawalls, sand import)? How have
these “solutions” caused their own coastal problems/impacts? What is the state of America’s
coasts?
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Life in the Ocean - Chapter #13
What does it mean to be alive? What do living things do, in general, collectively, that nonliving things do not do?
How is energy converted into food during photosynthesis? What marine organisms are
primary producers?
What are autotrophs & heterotrophs? What is a food web? Be familiar with the types of
organisms that makeup each trophic level (Hint: primary producer & consumer, etc.).
What is the name for marine organisms that have an internal temperature very similar to that
of their surroundings? What types of marine animals are able to regulate their own internal
temperature (endothermic)?
Where are each of the following zones: neritic, benthic, littoral, pelagic, oceanic, and hadal?
What is the definition of evolution? What is the definition of a species? How do new species
arise?
Who were Charles Darwin & Alfred Wallace? When & where did they formulate their
scientific discoveries?
What is natural selection (decent with modification). What two things did Darwin conclude
lead to unequal reproductive success? What is the result of natural selection (Hint: definition
of evolution)?
Understand the 4 mechanisms of evolution. How do new species come into being
(speciation)?
Who was one of the first persons to classify organisms into natural categories? What is he
considered, historically, with regard to taxonomy (naming) and classification (grouping) of
organisms? What does a natural system of classification for living organisms rely on?
How many Kingdoms of Life are recognized by scientists today and what are the names of the
Kingdoms?
What are the characteristics of scientific names and what advantage exists in using scientific
names, compared to using common names?
Plankton, Algae, and Plants - Chapter #14
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What is the name for the first organisms in the ocean that produce their own food from
sunlight?
What are the characteristics of diatoms and dinoflagellates?
What are red tides & what organism causes red tides?
What is bioluminescence? Why are dinoflagellates bioluminescent?
What are the definitions of the following: plankton, holoplankton, meroplankton,
phytoplankton, and zooplankton? (Hint: be able to identify examples of each).
What do most zooplankton eat? What role do they play in the food chain (web)? What is the
most abundant animal in the sea (Hint: zooplankton with antennae)?
What factors limit the productivity of phytoplankton?
Be familiar with the 3 divisions of marine algae (red, brown, green). Know which group can
live at the deepest depth, which group includes the kelp, & which group has no accessory
pigments to aid photosynthesis (can only live close to the surface). What are holdfasts?
Be familiar with the marine plants including flowering angiosperms (surf & eelgrass,
mangroves) & estuarine species. How do the flowering species get their pollen distributed?